LK Mashes

EVO… Vegas and things

By the end of this week I’ll know for sure if I’ll be at EVO. I already registered back in April and hotel/housing probably won’t be an issue. Can’t wait to get crazy before/after the tournament.

On that note, I’ll probably only be able to do two or three real strategy posts before then… got to practice, and there’s a tourney in New York the weekend before. And of course my birthday is coming up so that is mandatory party day. But, I’ll definitely take requests for strategy posts, as long as it isn’t “tell me all your Litchi tricks!” or something. Gotta save that shit for nationals, lol.

I’ll try to cover what goes on at the tourney on twitter, so if you don’t already, follow me on twitter at twitter.com/LordKnightBB.

CS2 Taokaka, part 3

Today I’m going to cover some Tao mixups.

Tao’s basic high/low game is rather weak. Where she excels, however, is extremely varied pressure. To start, get used to using partly charged (very slight charge) 5C. You’ll get a good amount of counter hits using it after a dash 5B.

Tao is best at using throw reject miss. The basic premise of this is to make it appear as if you were going to throw, then doing something to either keep them in blockstun, or make the throw whiff.

The basic setup would be to dash up > 2D >  jC. As long as they don’t OS tech, their throw whill whiff. Pick up the CH and go for it.  Alternatively doing dash 2aa > purple throw will also work. Vary it by throwing in some green throws to keep them on their toes.

Next, some airthrow setups. 

Tao gets her air options back after an airthrow is broken. There’s a bunch of ways to keep the opponent down.

1. jD~A. On counter hit, land and loop them again.
2. j2D~B > airthrow. Airthrow reset. 
3. jD~A > j2D~B > airthrow. Stop them from mashing, then try to snag the airthrow.
4. j4D~C > j8D~B > dodge potential reversals and punish, then confirm the counter hit.

CS2 Taokaka, part 2

This time, combo theory!

There are a couple of main combo routes:

1. 8D loop route - main combo route for Taokaka. It’s relatively easy as long as you decide not to dash. Off most clean hits you can get about 3 reps midscreen, 4 in the corner.
2. Confirm route - General route used when you get some really random air hit/counter hit that you can’t go into 8D route off of.
3. Max damage, non 8D loop route - Used for punishing techs and off 236C.
4. AB2 route - Combo into AB2. Around 5000 damage and oki. Very easy compared to CS1.
5. Easy route - Combo used when you used a lot of hits first (a bunch of 2A’s or something).
6. Ground route - Simple ground combo used to go continue pressure.

————

8D loop:

• 5B > 3C > 236A > 5D~B > 5C > 8D loop - need to be point blank.
• 5B > 6A > 8D loop - main confirm
• 5B > 3C > 236CC > 5D~A > 5C > 8D loop - corner
• Forward throw > j4D~A > 5D~A > 5C > 8D loop - corner, near corner
• Back throw > 5B > 5C > 8D loop
• Air drive counter hit > dash 5C > 8D loop

8D loop ender:

• 8D loop > 2D~C > 9D~5 > jD~6 > JC > j9D~9 > j3D~3 > j236Bx5

Confirm route:

• whatever > jC > j3D~C > jC > j9D~9 > j3D~3 > j236Bx5
• whatever > j9D~9 > j3D~3 > j236Bx5

Non 8D loop route:

• Tech punish - 2B > 5C > 2D~6 > j3D~C > j3D~A > j9D~5 > j6D~6 > jC > j9D~9 > j3D~3 > j236BX5
• 236CC > 2D~6 > j3D~C > j3D~A > j9D~5 > j6D~6 > jC > j9D~9 > j3D~3 > j236BX5

AB2 route:

• Whatever > 3C > AB2

Easy route:

• 2D~9 > jC > j9D~9 > j3D~3 > j236Bx5

Ground route:

• Whatever > 3C > 236A(how many times you want) > 5D~A/B
• Whatever > 5C > jD~B > 5B > 5C >  j5D~B

CS2 Taokaka, part 1

The most important thing you need a strong neutral game to be successful. Without understanding her neutral game, you’ll be flailing around the screen and taking unneeded damage. Tao is tied for the lowest health in the game (9500 HP) - so you have to be cautious.

Biggest change in CS2 is her j5D. It is much shorter than in CS1. Your horizontal mobility using just j5D is much more limited than before - thus you have to compensate with other forms of movement.

The second biggest change from CS1 to CS2 is how much hitstop her drives have. This is very good or her - it means that it’s much easier to time drive cancels, which you’ll need for neutral. It also makes combos waaaaay easier than before.

Now, Taokaka is a movement based character, so in the end you must understand her movement.

• A Drive Cancel - Stops you instantly. Done higher in the air, you can still airdash afterwards.
• B Drive Cancel - Goes through the opponent. Turns you around when you get through them.
• C Drive Cancel - Bounces up on contact. Easy to hitconfirm of of. Can airdash/jump afterwards (as long as you have the movement options left).

So, everyones movement will probably be varied somewhat. Go to options would be:

• 2D - anti-air. 2D~B is useful for “okizeme” (going to be covered in another post).
• J5D - Midscreen torpedo, pretty much. Very useful for neutral and fishing for counterhits. J5D~C is very easy to confirm on CH - on ground CH, falling jC, air CH, j4D~B.
• J4D - This would seem to be an easy way to get in on people, However, against an experienced player, it is pretty risky. J4D is good for regaining your air options, and for slipping under people.
• J2D - Situational, but can beat some anti airs. J2D~B or j2D~C are good options.

Aerials:

• j2B - Active forever. Great to just throw out when you’re high above them, and easy to confirm off of.
• jA - Air to air. Fast, easy to confirm off of with jA > jC > j9D~9 etc.
• jC - Excellent horizontal range. For air hits, you have to confirm off just the single hit, but if you can do it, the damage is great.

Next time I’ll cover combo theory and mixup. If you have any questions, just ask!

CS2

Happy CS2 release day (360 users)!